1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to collapsible containers and, more particularly, to a container formed of wire-like members which may be nested for holding or storage of materials, and which may be collapsed to a substantially planar condition for storage.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Collapsible containers constructed of wire-like rods have been in use for many years. One example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,443,901 to Murray. This patent discloses a container having pivotal walls which permit collapse to a planar condition. To transform the container to its assembled or erected mode, the side walls are pivoted upwardly, and an engagement rod is used to fix adjacent side walls together. A plurality of eyes extend upwardly from the upper periphery of the side walls to permit the top of the container to be wired shut. A variation of Murray's container is disclosed in his U.S. Pat. No. 1,626,009.
While Murray's container may be collapsed to a planar state, in this state the container is widely spread out and therefore is not very compact. Also, nothing is included in the Murray patents to suggest that the containers are specifically adapted to be nestible, that is stackable one upon the other. Moreover, to assemble his container, Murray's use of separable rods presents the danger that the rods may be misplaced, and may require the use of tools.
Other collapsible containers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,005,795 and 4,235,346 to Mikkelsen, et al. and Liggett, respectively. Both of these patents disclose containers which are collapsible to a planar condition, but again, in this condition, the containers are widely spread out. Mikkelson does teach the use of a plurality of so-called fingers which are adapted to clip adjacent walls to one another when the container is transformed to its assembled mode. However, like the Murray patents, nothing in the Mikkelsen et al. or Liggett patents discloses that the containers are specifically adapted to be nestible.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,419,175 to Laughlin et al. discloses a baking pan frame adapted to receive a plurality of disposable foil-like pan sections, which are fixed in place by a pivotable, peripheral closure member which secures the pan sections between such member and the container frame. Laughlin's apparatus is shown to be nestible, but only in an inoperable mode. U.S. Pat. Nos. 797,871 and 645,344 to Smith and White, respectively, exemplify other attempts to develop collapsible baskets comprised of wire-like members.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a collapsible container which overcomes the drawbacks and limitations of the prior art proposals. More specifically, the present invention has the following as its objects: (1) to develop a basket formed of wire-like components which can be folded over itself to be collapsed to a compact, substantially planar condition; (2) to provide a collapsible basket which is erectable into a sturdy, relatively shallow basket which may be nested with a plurality of like baskets so that items may be temporarily stored such that air can surround and permeate the items and so that the items are not crushed; (3) the development of a collapsible basket which is simple in construction and therefore inexpensive to manufacture and maintain; (4) the provision of a collapsible basket which is self-contained so that no additional parts have to be used to erect the basket, thus eliminating the possibility of parts lost, and which is easily erectable and collapsible without requiring tools or experience or skill on the part of the operator.